Professional Studies for the Ambitious; Adult Learners Can Upgrade Their Careers by Taking Up a Professional Development Course at Westminster Kingsway College

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Byline: SARAH RICHARDSON

[bar] ESTMINSTER Kingsway College is celebrating Adult Learners' Week 2012 with the launch of its Adult Learners' Guide for courses from September so you can see what's on offer and plan your studies for the year ahead.

With the increasing focus on skills in the workplace and the demands of the job market, the college is offering a number of professional development programmes in management and leadership, human resources, marketing, accounting and financial services -- all designed to help you stay ahead of the game in your career.

Howard White is the college's head of higher education, business and ICT. He explains: "We work with a number of professional bodies to ensure that courses and training are relevant to the industry and meet the changing requirements of the profession as job roles have become more complex.

"In recent years there has been a focus on leadership and management skills as companies have changed their organisational structures to meet the demands of their workforce and the changing economic and market environments.

"We are offering professional development courses with the Institute of Leadership and Management and other professional bodies that will address these requirements."

The links to professional bodies through the college can bring additional benefits to learners as they study. As an approved centre for Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) courses, Westminster Kingsway learners gain free studying membership of ILM for a specific period (usually six months) when they enrol for an ILM course.

Designed to help candidates get the most from their course and advance their management career, studying membership gives access to a wide range of specialist support and development materials. Learners can upgrade at any time to professional membership gaining an additional range of membership services.

White identifies human resources as another area of specialisation at the college. He says: "We provide dedi-cated courses with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, leading to CIPD-accredited qualifications. These courses are aimed at those working within a variety of human resources management or related functions to acquire a wide range of skills with which to become more effective in their jobs.

"We are also now offering single award CIPD modules so that you can tailor your professional development to your own career development needs and related work experience by studying the modules that are relevant to you. …